The 3,000-Troop Amphibious Unit Would Be Similar to U.S. Marines Corps

TOKYO—Japan plans to establish a 3,000-troop unit specializing in amphibious operations "as swiftly as possible," the defense minister said, publicly outlining details of the new unit for the first time as tensions with China continue over disputed islands.

Japan has undertaken an ambitious project to create a force similar to the U.S. Marine Corps, and Japanese Self-Defense Force Troops have been receiving increasingly...